AMER. 

The  Site  Is  Ours. 


BY  ys\  M .  MNSON. 

It  is  a  great  joy  to  the  struggling  mis¬ 
sionary  when  a  much-needed  property  or 
equipment  is  secured.  The  following  comes 
from  one  of  our  most  faithful  and  efficient 
missionaries  when  the  news  was  received : 

“Now  the  site  is  ours.  Our  cup  of  joy 
is  overflowing.  There  is  no  piece  of  prop¬ 
erty  in  Saltillo  more  desirable  than  this.” 

These  words  refer  to  the  purchase  of  a 
long-coveted  site  for  a  new  church  in  the 
city  of  Saltillo,  Mexico,  made  possible  by 
the  pledges  of  the  laymen  and  preachers  of 
the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference  at  its 
last  session.  The  missionary  who  penned 
those  words  went  there  when  fanaticism 
was  rampant,  and  began  a  school  in 
cramped  quarters  with  a  handful  of  stu¬ 
dents.  Now  there  are  in  the  Normal  De¬ 
partment  alone  thirty-four  young  ladies  be¬ 
ing  trained  for  teaching  in  the  schools  of 
Alexico.  Already  forty-one  have  gradu¬ 
ated  from  this  department,  and  wherever 
they  go  they  are  proving  a  blessing  and  a 
force  for  good. 

The  city,  situated  on  the  Mexican  Na¬ 
tional  Railroad,  the  trunk  line  from  San 
Antonio,  Tex.,  to  the  City  of  Mexico,  is 


magnificently  located  upon  the  high  table¬ 
land,  which  gives  a  salubrious  climate  and 
links  it  to  the  great  centers  of  the  South. 
In  Saltillo  is  a  splendid  Normal  College — 
one  of  the  best  in  the  republic.  It  was 
built  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Osuna, 
who  was  educated  at  the  expense  of  the 
Mexican  government  in  New  Bedford, 
Mass.  The  buildings  were  ereeted  at  a 
cost  of  $250,000  (Mexican).  Students 
from  all  parts  of  the  country  come  to  this 
institution,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  supreme 
importance  that  we  should  have  a  good 
church  building  near  by  which  will  attract 
and  help  to  win  them.  Not  a  few  are  al¬ 
ready  Christians  representing  the  various 
denominations,  and  the  religious  influence 
exerted  upon  them  will  be  felt  in  the  nor¬ 
mal  schools  of  every  State  south  of  the  Rio 
Grande. 

A  little  church  which  has  grown  up  in 
this  educational  center  has  come  to  its  own 
through  years  of  persecution  and  discour¬ 
agement.  It  is  making  history  rapidly  be¬ 
cause  of  the  leavening  influences  going  out 
from  it.  Andres  Osuna,  referred  to  above, 
is  one  of  the  leading  members  and  a  local 
preacher.  He  is  easily  one  of  the  most  in¬ 
fluential  educators  in  the  country.  Intelli¬ 
gent,  patriotic,  and  irreproachable  in  char¬ 
acter,  this  State  Superintendent  of  Instruc¬ 
tion  has  a  unique  opportunity  to  do  a  great 
work  for  his  own  people.  Not  long  since 
the  Jesuits  maligned  and  sought  to  remove 
him  from  office,  but  President  Diaz  and  the 
Governor  of  the  State  have  stood  by  him 

[  2  1 


from  the  beginning,  knowing  full  well  the 
value  of  his  services. 

The  church  occupied  by  our  congrega¬ 
tion  is  small  and  unattractive,  fronting,  as 
it  does,  on  a  narrow  side  street.  The  new 
property  is  on  a  corner,  beautifully  located 
and  spacious  enough  for  both  the  church 
and  the  enlargement  of  the  college  build¬ 
ings.  The  movement  among  our  brethren 
of  the  Southwest  Missouri  Conference 
comes  just  in  the  nick  of  time  to  strengthen 
our  hold  upon  the  community,  since  one  of 
our  Mexican  preachers,  an  ex-priest,  has 
stirred  the  city  to  the  very  depths  by  his 
powerful  presentation  of  the  great  truths 
of  Protestantism.  The  Catholic  bishop  and 
Jesuits  sought  in  every  way  to  break  his 
influence,  but  in  vain. 

An  extract  from  another  letter  from 
Mexico  reads :  “When  we  shall  have  se¬ 
cured  the  new  property  and  erected  on  it 
a  large,  modern  church,  Saltillo  can  easily 
become  the  Mecca  of  Southern  Metho¬ 
dism.”  The  property  has  been  secured  by 
an  advance  payment  upon  the  part  of  the 
Board  of  IMissions.  It  is  imperative  that 
the  installments  should  be  met  with  prompt¬ 
ness.  Failure  at  this  point  would  be  fatal. 
The  entire  amount  necessary  for  the  pur¬ 
chase  was  $8,250.  The  Secretaries  of  the 
Board  of  Missions  and  the  missionaries  on 
the  field  would  urge  the  raising  of  this 
amount  at  the  earliest  possible  day. 

The  world  has  been  reduced  by  the  won¬ 
derful  changes  of  the  last  century  into  a 
great  neighborhood.  In  a  new  and  power- 

[3] 


fill  sense  it  has  entered  upon  an  era  of 
brotherhood.  Geographically  the  United 
States  is  closely  related  to  IMexico,  the  one 
lying  upon  the  north  bank  and  the  other 
upon  the  south  side  of  the  Rio  Grande 
River.  From  President  Diaz,  one  of  the 
greatest  statesmen  of  the  age,  to  the  hum¬ 
blest  citizen  of  the  Mexican  Republic  they 
look  to  us  for  higher  ideals,  leadership  in 
education,  in  morals,  and  even  in  religion. 
The  time  has  come  when,  as  a  Christian  ; 
people,  we  can  give  an  illustration  of  broth-  i 
erly  sympathy  and  willingness  to  help.  j 

The  Laymen’s  Missionary  Movement  is 
a  constructive  force.  It  is  the  most  po¬ 
tential  agency  that  has  sprung  up  in  the 
Church  in  centuries.  The  work  of  evan¬ 
gelizing  the  world  is  a  man’s  job.  It  should 
not  be  relegated  to  preachers,  women,  and 
children.  They  have  borne  their  share  of  ; 
the  burden  and  have  done  it  nobly.  The 
strong  men  of  the  Church  must  now  put  ! 
their  shoulders  to  the  work.  They  must  i 
lift  and  help  and  serve  until  those  who  are 
under  the  bondage  of  tradition  and  eccle- 
siasticism  and  superstition  shall  look  up 
and  realize  that  God  is  our  common  Father. 

It  is  this  larger  mission  which  prompts  to 
vigorous  and  immediate  effort  in  response 
to  the  call  that  comes  to  Missouri  Meth¬ 
odism  for  the  equipment  of  our  Church  in 
Saltillo.  The  money  raised  by  the  laymen  | 
of  Missouri  for  this  call  will  be  their  quota  j 
of  the  million  for  missions. 


Board  of  Missions,  M.  E.  Church,  South,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

[4] 


